
When Grief Becomes Political: How Tragedy is Weaponized Against a Free Press and Youth in North Macedonia and Serbia
Two recent tragedies—one in North Macedonia and one in Serbia—have sparked waves of student-led protests in Skopje and Belgrade, drawing attention to deep-seated political and institutional failures in both countries. In March, a horrific fire tore through the makeshift Pulse nightclub in Kočani, North Macedonia, killing 61 people and injuring hundreds more. Meanwhile, in Novi …

Troll of the Month: Socialist Party (PS) candidate Zegjine Çaushi in Albania
The Balkan Troll of the Month is an individual, a group of individuals, or a media outlet that spreads hate based on gender, ethnicity, religion, or other diversity categories. The Balkan Troll is selected based on hate speech incidents identified across the Western Balkan region. During a Socialist Party (PS) campaign event in Fier, PS …

Monthly Highlights March: sexism and misogyny, attacks on journalists, the spread of disinformation, bias and death threats
During March, the RDN monitoring team detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse fuelled by sexism and misogyny alongside the spread of disinformation, bias and death threats coupled with attacks on journalists. Sexism and misogyny in Albania and Montenegro In Albania, during a controversial interview with Revista Bordo, author Albi Lushi claimed that women …

Troll of the Month: Miroslav Kraljević, the mayor of Vlasenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Balkan Troll of the Month is an individual, a group of individuals or a media outlet that spreads hate based on gender, ethnicity, religion, or other diversity categories. The Balkan Troll is selected based on hate speech incidents identified across the Western Balkan region. Miroslav Kraljević, the mayor of Vlasenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina, …